Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Angina or Ulcer?

I went to see the Cardiologist yesterday. I hadn't planned on taking my two year old with me, as I had asked my husband to watch her for this appointment so that I could try to answer questions correctly and without interruption. I don't care to get into specifics; suffice it to say he left me high and dry at the last minute. Ava's usual response to a doctor entering an exam room is screaming non-stop until they leave. I did my best to entertain her and talked to her about why we were there before Dr. Cardiologist came in. It helped some; she's very reasonable for two years old and I was proud of how well she did this time. :)

The end result of the visit: scheduled an EBCT, mostly because I have odd symptoms, odd diseases with odd presentations, and my specialist insists on it. He ran cholesterol bloodwork and routine bloodwork. I'll see him again next month. The EBCT will be done at Cedars-Sinai next Monday morning. I still haven't looked up what an EBCT is, I've done enough research on medical tests to last me a lifetime and for this I'm just going blind. I gathered enough to know it is about calcium deposits and that is enough. ;) If it were a two-day low-dose dex suppression with CRH stim, I'd be more into it.

He thinks that the angina-like discomfort I have could be an old ulcer acting up. Back in the mid-90's I had a bleeding ulcer that just wouldn't quit until I started taking Prilosec. At that time Prilosec was a new drug on the market and without insurance, ouch, it cost me a small fortune. Without it I couldn't eat, so I paid for it and it cured me. Could it be causing the pain that crushes my left sternum? goes to my jaw, collarbone, left arm, mid-chest? I don't know, but I'll go on the Protonix and hope it helps. Near-constant angina pain is annoying. Sometimes more than annoying, but as compared to constant headache and adrenal pain? Everything else only rates as a nuisance. lol

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

My name is Michael Rodman and i would like to show you my personal experience with Protonix.

I am 39 years old. Have been on Protonix for 2 years now. Miracle drug I have suffered with gerd for a long time and tried many treatments, some because coverage wasnt allowed, so my dr had been given me samples. When I am on this meds I am painfree thank god. I feel normal. I have run out of supplies and I have been in such pain that I sleep sitting up. I go back today to get more samples, today thank god.

No side effects that i remember so they cant be that bad

I hope this information will be useful to others,
Michael Rodman

Andre Agassi said...

An estimated one in five Americans suffers from chronic pain and many of these people depend on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) to help manage their pain because their doctor does not approve of or prescribe narcotic pain medications. NSAIDs include both over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medications like aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen. While these medications are effective in helping to relieve pain, continuous use may increase the risk of stomach ulcers. According to the American College of Gastroenterology, NSAID use is the second major cause of stomach ulcers. In the US, it is estimated that gastrointestinal complications caused by NSAIDs result in more than 100,000 hospitalizations and 16,500 deaths annually.